Technical Field
The present invention is related to the field of microscopes and the locating of targets or specimens in the field of view of microscopes to document the location of a target on a slide. Specifically, aspects of the present invention employ linear potentiometers operatively connected to microscope slides to locate the position of targets on the slides and, among other things, more readily re-acquire the targets for further investigation.
Description of Related Art
Investigators in a broad range of disciplines, for example, medical, biological, pharmacological, genetics, academic (including schools of all levels), and forensics, often use microscopes, including optical, digital, electron, and atomic-force microscopes, to investigate specimens, for example, microbes, blood cells, materials, objects, and the like. However, due to the degree of magnification of existing microscopes, once a target or specimen is located in the field of view of the microscope, it is often difficult to re-locate or re-acquire the target in the field of view, for example, for examination by colleagues or other investigators.
Many prior art attempts have been made to address these specific disadvantages of microscope use, but have been found to be lacking in efficacy and/or repeatability. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,327 of Christov discloses a method for positioning the stage of an electron microscope. U.S. Pat. No. 9,001,421 of Youn discloses a device for adjusting the magnification of a microscope. The Youn device includes a potentiometer mounted to a rotatable adjuster. U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,051 of Page discloses an electron microscope with an automatically adjustable stage. U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,388 of Phillips discloses a work stage for a semiconductor work piece having an X-Y work stage positioner that uses potentiometers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,400 of Brockman, et al. discloses a method and device for positioning a tool by using linear potentiometers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,853 of Mori, et al. discloses an electron microscope having a joystick that uses potentiometers to navigate a stage. U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,382 of Gibbs discloses systems positioning microscope slides.
However, despite these and other prior art attempts to facilitate the use of microscopes, there remains a need in the art to provide improved methods, systems, and devices that facilitate and improve the accuracy of the re-acquiring of targets viewed by microscopes.